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Ammo Manufacturing

DrBeast

Plastic
Joined
May 14, 2019
Location
Los Angeles
Anyone here involved in making ammo from reloading to the actual machining of casings and more?

The price of ammo has me flustered and I hate waiting in lines to spend several hundred dollars for paltry amounts.

I'd love to learn more.
 
The problem right now though is general components.

Are you planning to make powder, projectiles, and primers?

I mention this as at the virtual shot shows, most of the Ammo manufactures were saying they could get 3 of 4, most of the time but not the other. If these guys are placing millions of dollars in raw materials orders, it makes it hard for us to get in.

We have a manufactures license, and while dipping our toes in it a couple years ago, commercial presses were starting ~30ish k. Then the components to feed. We've avoided it commercially, but have stuck to small scale for our post sample feeding.
 
Except for possibly the extractor groove cases are formed instead of machined. Very expensive equipment and dies will need to be made. Then you will need a supply of sheets of "cartridge brass". Lots of drawing operations between the forming operations are needed also. Do not think you would want to try this in California either.
 
There are a number of good plant tour videos on YouTube. You're just going to have to wait out the return to normalcy for the ammo supply.

Steve
 
I gather primers are the big problem ...not to mention the Remington breakup ,and shipping delays preventing foreign ammunition reaching the US market.........add all that to mass hoarding ,and you get shortages.
 
My BiL works directly for the owner of an ammo company..........he said THEY are having real problems getting primers.
 
Once in a while you can find primers on the shelf. Some of the larger stores will still sell them close to reasonable. See if you can find out when the local place gets restocked, and try to visit them soon after. Brass isn't too hard to get. Powder can be found, but again you'll have to be patient. Buying the actual projectile will depend on what you are reloading. Some aren't too bad to get, others there is a 2-3 month wait.
Good luck!
 
Google Martin A Frost and a book in PDF called
“Ammunition Manufacturing” should come up.
It has drawings for dies and goes into the machinery needed to make components and talks about powder and primers.
 
I saw a video the other day by the guy that’s in charge of cci ammo production. He said 2020 was their biggest year yet. Also said that components go first to their ammo production then excess is sold for reloading. Makes sense.
 
I served my apprenticeship at an older shop that made reloading equipment. IMHO setting up to actually make brass is so expensive it's not worth it unless you want to make a small fortune (from a large fortune) :D
Reloading is rewarding. Stock up on components, get some books. I highly recommend Ken Water's manual if you can find them, in addition to all the other manuals you can find, buy, and have room to store, even old books. I have a set from PO Ackley, who's been gone a while. Still stuff to learn there.
Dillon equipment is likely the most popular and easiest to use for a beginner, the 550B model would be good. Lots of new and used around. Easier to learn on than the more automated models.
Plan to start slow, and learn all you can as you get into it.

If you are really thinking about reloading/manufacturing ammunition for money. Think hard on that and develop a business plan. Lots of requirements if you want to stay fully legal with everything.

Good luck!
 
And don't think you're going to start manufacturing primers. The raw materials, the facilities required, etc. make it very prohibitive.

Forget the prohibitive part. When I was a match director I saw a guy blow out the bottom of his AR mag and dump all the remaining rounds on the ground. The case had split near the base from overpressure. He said he bought the ammo at a gun show from a guy that was reloading in his garage, probably without a license to manufacture. Likely the wrong powder.

There is an absolute zero chance that any sane person would buy primers made by an amateur.

Steve
 
Having seen how primers are made at Lake City, it is not something that you want to try making. It is an art not a science to make good primers.
 
... drilling out solid barstock ...

In my limited experience, cases made that way don't last as long as drawn ones.
 
Ive often thought of buying on of the big inclinable presses you see go for scrap at auctions......unfortunately ,you need a big one to get the stroke suitable for case drawing......in the 60s and 70s I used to see lots of of the double acting /live stripper deep drawing presses sell for peanuts,while the punch presses were still good money......I believe thats how Bertram started off,he bought all the machinery for scrap out of the old Footscray Ammunition factory,and then a few years later ,he did a similar deal on the still operational Marybrnong explosives magazine .....I saw a near new Swiss 300 ton double acting inner and outer ram press ,that was used for pressing the explosive material in bomb detonators....Huge machine ran silently ,using moth crystals as a demonstration.Pressed the fluffy crystals into a rock solid mass at about 30 a minute
 








 
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